Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Australia (Ratification: 1949)

The Committee notes the observations of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) received on 2 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, as well as the Government’s response, contained in its report.

Articles 1, 2, 3 and 11 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. The Government refers in its report to three main employment service programmes. Its primary employment services programme, Jobactive, which replaced Job Services Australia as of 1 July 2015 seeks to better meet the needs of jobseekers and employers and improve job outcomes. Jobactive, managed by the Department of Employment, provides free services to jobseekers, including a national online jobs board. In addition, the Disability Employment Services Programme (DES), managed by the Department of Social Services, provides specialized assistance to people with disabilities, with an emphasis on employment, skills development, education and training as well as support to employers. The Community Development Programme (CDP), managed by the Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, replaced the Remote Jobs and Communities Programme on 1 July 2015. The Government indicates that the CDP aims to increase the participation and employment rates for people living in remote communities. All three programmes are delivered through a range of private sector and not-for-profit organizations that are wholly funded by the Government. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is also responsible for delivery of indigenous-specific services in urban, regional and remote areas. The Government reports that, as of 30 June 2016, it had contracted 44 Jobactive providers to deliver services in the 51 areas identified as non-remote Employment Regions for delivery of Jobactive in more than 1,723 locations (over 1,200 in metropolitan areas and approximately 500 in the regions). The DES programme funds 132 organizations that provide employment support for persons with physical, intellectual and/or psychiatric disabilities. Services are delivered nationally from approximately 2,000 metropolitan and regional locations in 110 employment service areas. The Government adds that over 182,000 persons are registered with the DES programme and that over US$3 billion are being invested over the next four years to assist persons with disabilities to find and retain work in the open labour market. The DES programme does not deliver employment services in remote areas. The CPD delivers services through 42 providers in 60 designated remote areas, including services for persons with disabilities. The Government adds that the contracts in place for the providers for all three programmes provide for flexibility so that the services can be responsive to changes in the local labour market. In its observations on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), the ACTU describes the CDP as a discriminatory employment scheme, indicating that CDP workers are paid below the minimum wage for working 25 hours a week and are not granted the legal protections to which employees are typically entitled. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact and effectiveness of the activities carried out by the employment services under Jobactive, the Disability Employment Services Programme and the Community Development Programme, as well as other programmes, such as the indigenous-specific programmes, and the manner in which they ensure “the best possible organisation of the employment market as an integral part of the national programme for the achievement and maintenance of full employment and the development and use of productive resources” (Article 1(2)). In particular, it requests the Government to provide statistical information disaggregated by age, sex and region, the number of applications for employment received, the number of vacancies notified, and the number of persons placed in employment by such offices. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to secure effective cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies (Article 11).

Articles 4 and 5. Consultation and cooperation with the social partners. In its observations, the ACTU expresses concern at the lack of a tripartite advisory committee in relation to the organization and functioning of the employment services or the development of employment service policy, adding that there had been no meaningful consultation in relation to the development of the Jobactive system. The ACTU recalls that it previously participated in the Government’s Employment Services working group and the Disability Employment Services Reference Group, but indicates that these groups have not been functioning for at least 12 months. In its response, the Government indicates that it currently has no tripartite advisory committees in place relating to its employment service policy as a whole, but that it consults regularly with employers’ and workers’ organizations on employment service policy. It adds that the Department of Employment consulted with the ACTU, employer representatives and other stakeholders during 2016 on various aspects of employment services. The Government further indicates that it has special consultation arrangements in place relating to issues affecting people with disabilities and jobseekers in remote areas. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure the participation of the representatives of workers and employers in the organization and functioning of the employment service and the development of employment service policy as required under Article 4 of the Convention.

Article 6. Activities of the employment service. The Government indicates that a core focus for Jobactive is meeting the needs of employers in order to place jobseekers into sustainable employment. To this end, the Department of Employment engages with employers to better understand their recruitment and workforce planning challenges in order to inform future policy development and provide incentives to them for using the service. The Government also indicates that the Relocation Assistance to take up a Job Programme facilitates geographical mobility by covering the relocation costs of eligible jobseekers. The Government indicates that unemployment benefits in Australia are taxpayer funded and payment is conditional on recipients meeting certain requirements. After a specified period of payment, jobseekers who are not already undertaking an approved activity are required to participate in the Work for the Dole Programme (WFD), which allows them to gain skills while participating in projects that benefit their communities. In its observations, the ACTU maintains that the Government has made unpaid work under the WFD a mandatory component of the job search requirement for all jobseekers under the age of 55. The Government indicates that the WFD is not mandatory under the Jobactive system, but that what is required is that jobseekers receiving income support meet an annual activity requirement for a set number of hours. The WFD is one of a number of activities a jobseeker can undertake to meet this requirement. The ACTU refers to research indicating that the WFD has a significant adverse effect on the participant’s likelihood of entering employment. In its response, the Government points out that the study cited by the ACTU used outdated information from the WFD pilot programme, and refers to an independent evaluation of the WFD in 2014–15 which found positive effects on participation and employability. Furthermore, the Department of Employment’s Post Programme Monitoring survey of jobseekers showed that, of the jobseekers who exited the WFD during July to November 2015, 35 per cent were in employment three months later. In addition to the aforementioned evaluation, comparative studies published by the Department of Employment in 2000, 2006 and 2010 found the WFD to have positive effects on income support reliance. In its earlier comment of 2015, the ACTU had indicated that an additional programme, that is the National Work Experience Programme, allows jobseekers to conduct unpaid work placement with for-profit businesses, which entails a high risk of exploitation given the involvement of the private sector. The Government responds that the Programme can be hosted by both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and that it is monitored closely. The ACTU also considers that the WFD discriminates against disadvantaged jobseekers, requiring jobseekers under the age of 30 and indigenous jobseekers in remote areas to complete 25 hours per week of WFD, compared to 15 hours per week for other jobseekers. In its observations under Convention No. 122, the ACTU notes that it is unacceptable that people taking part in the WFD are not covered by occupational safety and health regulations, despite the fact that they are more likely to be injured due to lack of training or inadequate training. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the employment service is organized and on the activities which it performs to carry out effectively the functions set out in Article 6. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it ensured that the same annual activity requirements under the WFD are applied to all jobseekers and, if this is not the case, to explain the rationale for any distinctions in the requirements.

Article 7. Specific categories of workers. The Government provides information on various programmes to assist specific categories of workers in vulnerable situations, such as jobseekers with young children, pre-release prisoners, women and persons with disabilities. The Committee refers to its comments on the application of Convention No. 122, where it notes the measures which provide additional support to the most disadvantaged groups, with a particular focus on disadvantaged parents of young children, indigenous Australians and older people. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information, including statistical data, on the outcomes of the active labour market measures implemented to meet the needs of specific particular categories of jobseekers, including persons with disabilities.

Article 8. Special arrangements for young people. Unemployment among young people aged 15–24 is double the national average. The Government’s Youth Employment Strategy, as part of its Growing Jobs and Small Business Package, focuses on increasing the employability of young people. Jobseekers under the age of 30 enrolled in Jobactive who are more ready, receive intensive services. Under the CDP, providers are required to encourage early school leavers to re-engage in education to obtain educational skills before they are required to look for work. In its observations, the ACTU expresses its view that the current legislation punishes young people for not being able to find employment, noting the mandatory four-week waiting period imposed by the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Youth Employment) Bill 2016 on jobseekers under the age of 25 who apply for a youth allowance. The Government indicates that exemptions are available for young people who are less job ready, face additional barriers to employment, or are in particularly vulnerable circumstances. The ACTU also observes that the 2016 Bill removes young jobseekers between the ages of 22 and 24 from the Newstart Allowance and places them on the lower-paid Youth Allowance. The Government indicates that placing all under 25-year-olds at the same payment level whether they are unemployed or studying full time is intended to remove the disincentive to pursue full-time studies or employment that the higher allowance may create. The ACTU also notes that the Government legislation pauses indexation on all working age payments (including Newstart and Youth Allowance) for three years and removes the low income supplement. The Government clarifies that payments will not be reduced unless the recipient’s circumstances such as their income or assets change and that the low income supplement was abolished due to a very low take-up rate. In its observations under Convention No. 122, the ACTU expresses significant concerns about changes to income support payments for young jobseekers and notes that the jobseekers are not eligible for Newstart or Youth Allowance payments for more than six months, with limited exceptions. The Government adds that it has invested US$840.3 million over four years in a Youth Employment Package to assist up to 120,000 young people to take advantage of job opportunities. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the activities carried out under the initiatives undertaken by the Government to promote employment of young persons, including those with mental illness and other types of disabilities, as well as on the outcome of its employment services programmes in terms of placing young people in lasting employment.